(a) Field of the Invention
This application relates to a system and device for retaining and cooling a beverage container, and more particularly, but without limitation, to a reusable container holder that is designed to be cooled and then used to cool a beverage container retained within the device.
(b) Discussion of Known Art
The need to cool or retain a beverage container, such as a beverage bottle or can, is well recognized. However, solutions for this problem have resulted in designs that provide significant compromises. For instance, devices that are used solely to insulate the beverage container do not provide the ability to also chill or heat the contents of the beverage container, if chilling or heating is desired. Devices that provide chilling capability, such as the device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,163,374 to Moore et al. lack the ability to accommodate both bottled and canned beverages, and thus provide limited versatility and utility. There is a need for a device or system that can be used to get canned or bottled beverages to a desired temperature range, and keep the beverage within the bottle or can at the desired temperature range.
Another example is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,604,549 to Campi discloses a device made of foamed plastic that can accommodate cans by using a “puck-shaped” lid, and can then be modified to accommodate long neck bottles by replacing the puck-shaped lid with a lid that follows the shape of the top of a long-neck bottle. Immediately apparent shortcomings of this approach is that the user must carry and store different types of lids for different types of containers, depending if one will be using the device with a can or a bottle.
An approach at alleviating the problems associated with the Moore et al. and the Campi type of devices is found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,814,252 to Murakami et al., which uses an extendible, flexible, frusto-conical section to accommodate the neck portion of a bottle. The frusto-conical section includes a pair of opposed stretch panels to accommodate various shapes of bottles.
Therefore, a review of known devices reveals that there remains a need for a container that can be used to keep bottled or canned beverages at a desired temperature range without having to modify the container to allow use of the device with a can or with a bottle, or whether it is used to hold a long-neck beer bottle or a feeding bottle for an infant.